# What are we to do with these insects we refer to as Republicans? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 1, 2019, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076 "2019-10-01T04:34:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076/81 "2019-10-01T19:23:11Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > “ **Bricker** got less shit than **Starving Artist** ,” is not exactly a high bar to clear. He still collected a ton of shit, and most of it was pretty undeserved, at least from where I’m sitting. Of course, where I’m sitting also lets me see all the posts from conservatives that get reported as “trolling,” and it’s pretty nearly all of them. So that might be coloring my perception. But if I were at all right of center, I sure as fuck wouldn’t share it on this board. :eek: You a closet Republican? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076/82 "2019-10-01T19:23:53Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > That’s because Bricker stopped posting, you bubble inhabiting fool. Plus you enjoy stirring stuff up here. Often with the same sort of short and cite free posts you criticize. > > iiandyiiii, the genesis of the ‘shit’ I get is the fact that I am unapologetically for strong first amendment principles. That’s the funny thing, you so-called liberals aren’t. Hasn’t Trump repeatedly called for the press to be muzzled because he didn’t like the reporting? As for the GOP reaction to such, crickets are insects, right? ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076/83 "2019-10-01T19:24:28Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > My bolding. > > **Bone** , what the hell? I’m sorry if I didn’t come off as sufficiently angry for your tastes, but I find it hard to believe anyone could read my post as supportive of the OP. Nevertheless, I am for clarity, not confusion. I therefore “hearby” condemn **asahi** for posting unreasonable, outraged shit in that bastion of decorum the Pit, of all places. I hope that puts me back in your good graces; I’ll pretend I give a rat’s ass. Likewise, all I did was post a link to the New York Times :shrug: ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076/84 "2019-10-01T19:26:02Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > iiandyiiii, the genesis of the ‘shit’ I get is the fact that I am unapologetically for strong first amendment principles. Yes, it’s your own courageous stance against the forces of evil! You have no flaws, my brave and perfect martyr of a friend… nothing you post could ever warrant criticism. 😉 > [@](#): > > That’s the funny thing, you so-called liberals aren’t. No, the straw-man fantasy liberals that live in your head may not, but that doesn’t have anything to do with the rest of us. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076/85 "2019-10-01T19:27:56Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Hasn’t Trump repeatedly called for the press to be muzzled because he didn’t like the reporting? > As for the GOP reaction to such, crickets are insects, right? I didn’t vote for Trump. I’ve even voted for some Democrats so I can’t speak for Trump. I think Trump is very problematic. Unfortunately, the judiciary is so important that it’s hard not to see the appeal of someone who will move the courts to the right. At least from a conservative perspective. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076/86 "2019-10-01T19:28:09Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > “ **Bricker** got less shit than **Starving Artist** ,” is not exactly a high bar to clear. He still collected a ton of shit, and most of it was pretty undeserved, at least from where I’m sitting. Of course, where I’m sitting also lets me see all the posts from conservatives that get reported as “trolling,” and it’s pretty nearly all of them. So that might be coloring my perception. But if I were at all right of center, I sure as fuck wouldn’t share it on this board. Fair enough. **Bricker** got more shit than he deserved, but not nearly as much as some of the shitty posters that did deserve the shit they got. Which is all I’m saying. I’m not saying the board is perfect and bias-free – obviously it’s not. Obviously conservatives are going to feel less welcome on a board with a mostly-liberal membership than the opposite. My main point is that the board is still a pretty good place, and generally the posters are pretty good (and better than any other place on the internet that I’m aware of), even if we’re far from perfect. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076/87 "2019-10-01T19:30:28Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Yes, it’s your own courageous stance against the forces of evil! You have no flaws, my brave and perfect martyr of a friend… nothing you post could ever warrant criticism. 😉 That’s the strawman! I never said any of that and you know that. You use that ad absurdum technique far too often btw. > [@](#): > > No, the straw-man fantasy liberals that live in your head may not, but that doesn’t have anything to do with the rest of us. Real life isn’t the strawman! ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076/88 "2019-10-01T19:36:17Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > That’s the strawman! > > I never said any of that and you know that. You use that ad absurdum technique far too often btw. I know. I was just mocking you, since you said something incredibly absurd. > [@](#): > > Real life isn’t the strawman! Lazy, effort-free, and cite-free. Par for **octopus**! In the real world, liberals are indeed more likely to express support for restrictions on hate speech. But you know what’s interesting? Conservatives are more likely to express support for restrictions on pornography and blasphemous speech. [Cite.](https://theharrispoll.com/in-just-four-years-the-percentage-of-americans-who-believe-there-are-any-books-that-should-be-banned-has-increased-by-more-than-half-28-believe-this-to-be-the-case-today-vs-18-in-2011-one-fourth/) It’s almost like people are generally more likely to be in favor of restrictions on speech they don’t like, and neither liberals nor conservatives are generally more or less likely to be free speech champions. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076/89 "2019-10-01T20:05:23Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Fair enough. **Bricker** got more shit than he deserved, but not nearly as much as some of the shitty posters that did deserve the shit they got. Sure, but it’s not exactly like **Bricker** was an outlier here. Hell, **octopus** gets more shit than he deserves, a lot of it from you. > [@](#): > > Which is all I’m saying. I’m not saying the board is perfect and bias-free – obviously it’s not. Obviously conservatives are going to feel less welcome on a board with a mostly-liberal membership than the opposite. My main point is that the board is still a pretty good place, and generally the posters are pretty good (and better than any other place on the internet that I’m aware of), even if we’re far from perfect. It’s a pretty good place to be a liberal, which is one reason I’ve been here for 20 years. It’s not nearly as good a place to be if you’re anything other than a liberal. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076/90 "2019-10-01T20:16:01Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Hell, **octopus** gets more shit than he deserves Does he? Does he _really_? \*Really \*really? He deserves \*so \*much more. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076/91 "2019-10-01T20:18:58Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Does he? Does he _really_? \*Really \*really? Yeah, he really, really does. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076/92 "2019-10-01T20:27:24Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Not to me. There are a lot more similarities between modern Republicans and WW II Nazis than there are differences. And then there are those like me. I remain Republican because someone needs to hang around to vote in restricted pollings to let them know that they do not all have to be repugnant. I am old school - fiscally conservative and socially liberal. I consistantly vote against their idiocies and will until I am dead. mrAru wants me to get into politics and start running small once we finally move to Nevada and are settled in. Please do not tar all of us with the same brush, some of us are different, I assure you. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076/93 "2019-10-01T20:31:27Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Sure, but it’s not exactly like **Bricker** was an outlier here. Hell, **octopus** gets more shit than he deserves, a lot of it from you. > > It’s a pretty good place to be a liberal, which is one reason I’ve been here for 20 years. > > It’s not nearly as good a place to be if you’re anything other than a liberal. Okay, thanks. I will take this onboard and strive to be a better poster. And I’ll add that I’d appreciate it if you would try and call me out specifically when you see a post in which you think I’m way off. It’s hard to get better when the criticism is general rather than specific. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076/94 "2019-10-01T20:37:26Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > And then there are those like me. I remain Republican because someone needs to hang around to vote in restricted pollings to let them know that they do not all have to be repugnant. I am old school - fiscally conservative and socially liberal. I consistantly vote against their idiocies and will until I am dead. mrAru wants me to get into politics and start running small once we finally move to Nevada and are settled in. > > Please do not tar all of us with the same brush, some of us are different, I assure you. I wish I could be convinced that your type was still a significant force in the republican party. However the ‘insects’ are _loud_ - to the point of having seemingly convinced _your own party leadership_ that they, not you, are their electorate! And when I broad-brush republicans, in my mind I’m doing the same. I’m literally no-true-scotsmanning you: The republican party has gone to the dogs, and I assume that when the republican party implodes into a black hole formed of its on sin and all the dogs are sucked in and destroyed your type will be left standing on the fringes, wondering if you should get back together under a new, stain-free party name. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076/95 "2019-10-01T20:47:31Z")
First to the OP: Vodka is a hell of a drug… > [@octopus](#): > > Folks left of center don’t use fossil fuels? Do you really think that before people got the change they needed, like for example with the deployment of city wide sewage systems and water works, that it made sense to make fun of the ones demanding change just because they did not had their own toilets or their own drainage tubes? ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076/96 "2019-10-01T20:50:16Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > The Republican Party has become a personality cult. We’ve never seen this before in the US. Once free of the demonic possession that is Donald, can they again be a responsible party? I’m betting no. They have lived by the principle of having no principles for too long. Remember that on Jan 20, 2009 party leaders met and decided that they would not cooperate with the new President Obama. They conducted endless conspiracy theory investigations into Hillary, Benghazi, and (shudder) her e-mails. They stole a Supreme Court seat from Obama for no other reason than that they could. They passed irresponsible tax cuts at a time when tax cuts were not needed. They refuse to act on gun violence at the behest of their masters at the NRA. This is not a responsible party, and they went rogue before the orange con man came along. What should happen is that the party dissolves and the Democrats split into liberal and moderate wings. What will happen is that they will continue to use conspiracy theories to con the gullible to vote them in so that someday they’ll regain unified control of government and then further gut environmental protections and worker rights. @ **Bone** - You’d better add me to your Blacklist, since **BobLibDem** ’s post is one I’d have been happy to write. I noticed that some in the thread used the word “conservative.” This word, like “literally,” has literally become meaningless. (I.) In the 20th century, a “conservative” might endorse some of these positions: (a) My religion teaches that homosexuality and abortion are sinful; I believe the government should use its policing power to prevent these sins. (b) Businesses should not be forced to assist “social justice.” My taxes should not be used to provide education or healthcare for the less fortunate. It is a natural corollary of Darwinist natural selection that letting inferior people fail is good for the species. (c) The America I love is white and Christian. We should reject immigrants who have a different color or different faith. I disagree with these positions, but I understand that a human being with a different philosophical outlook might endorse them. (II.) But today a “conservative” is (with some hyperbole) someone who (a) wants to deliver secrets to Russia to reward them for subverting our elections. (b) is happy to lock young children in cages, in some cases leaving them permanently separated from their parents. (c) refuses to watch any news program unless it’s based completely on lies. (d) would happily elect a child rapist if the alternative is someone who supports, e.g. wind power. (e) believes scientists are morons, or perhaps sex addicts who sell themselves for freebies at Hillary’s Pizza & Brothel. (f) endorses the murder of journalists who speak the truth. (g) wants to steal from the poor and reward the billionaires; or is so under-informed they don’t realize that is what they are voting for. (h) makes partisanship his supreme value, e.g. encouraging the Ds to adopt the GOP program Romneycare, but giving no votes for it; then sabotaging it deliberately to make the Ds look bad. (i) finds no crime to be illegal nor any lie to be wrong if they help GOP get elected. OP calls the type II conservatives “insects.” I prefer the term “vermin” but still agree with OP’s sentiments. Now, I know what some of you are thinking: “I’m not a ‘II’ but a type ‘I’ conservative; in fact I don’t go nearly as far as septimus’ caricature of a type ‘I’ conservative.” Fine. If that’s the case write into this thread, using emphasizing tags as in my example: _ **I reject Donald Trump. I promise to vote for the D Prez candidate, if Trump is the R. I refuse to vote for pederasts, criminals and corporate whores. If/when a true conservative party re-emerges, then and only then I will resume voting against the Ds.** _ If you can’t do that? Then I will have to agree with OP and call you EITHER ‘vermin’ OR someone so willfully ignorant and/or stupid and/or hateful that you do not understand what today’s Republican Party has become. hth ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076/97 "2019-10-01T20:51:43Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > And then there are those like me. I remain Republican because someone needs to hang around to vote in restricted pollings to let them know that they do not all have to be repugnant. I am old school - fiscally conservative and socially liberal. I consistantly vote against their idiocies and will until I am dead. mrAru wants me to get into politics and start running small once we finally move to Nevada and are settled in. > > Please do not tar all of us with the same brush, some of us are different, I assure you. Thanks for the reminder. You are right, we should not tar you all with the same brush. Yes, there are some decent Republicans. Unfortunately, your party has been hijacked by this bizarre personality cult. I’d like to think that the decent sort like yourself were the majority. But I’m losing faith. If you can expel the demon and get the party back to being responsible, then I’ll have no problem with Republicans. I honestly wish the good Republicans the best of luck when the fever breaks. But I’m not optimistic for you. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076/98 "2019-10-01T20:55:54Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > It’s not nearly as good a place to be if you’re anything other than a liberal. To be fair, I don’t get much (undeserved) shit from people here and I’m open about not being a liberal. You don’t have to be on the left to feel welcome. Though I’m definitely not on the right; I used to say I “leaned right” but not lately. I’ve found myself more out of agreement with the right in the past few years than I’ve ever been. So that might explain things a bit. I think part of the problem here is that the “face” of the right wing is Trump. And for many here everything right wing is about him. If you express any right wing views you’re responsible for anything Trump says and does. Which is childish bullshit. Earlier in this thread, the counter to left wing resistance to upholding free speech is that Trump wants to muzzle the press. There are folks on the right who think a lot of what Trump does is idiotic too. It’s unfortunate that too many of them supported him in the primaries, and then voted for the guy in the election, and now he’s running things. So some of the vitriol is deserved, but if you think all conservatives are mind slaves to Trump you’re pretty ignorant. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076/99 "2019-10-01T20:59:49Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > (II.) But today a “conservative” is (with some hyperbole) someone who > (a) wants to deliver secrets to Russia to reward them for subverting our elections. > (b) is happy to lock young children in cages, in some cases leaving them permanently separated from their parents. > (c) refuses to watch any news program unless it’s based completely on lies. > (d) would happily elect a child rapist if the alternative is someone who supports, e.g. wind power. > (e) believes scientists are morons, or perhaps sex addicts who sell themselves for freebies at Hillary’s Pizza & Brothel. > (f) endorses the murder of journalists who speak the truth. > (g) wants to steal from the poor and reward the billionaires; or is so under-informed they don’t realize that is what they are voting for. > (h) makes partisanship his supreme value, e.g. encouraging the Ds to adopt the GOP program Romneycare, but giving no votes for it; then sabotaging it deliberately to make the Ds look bad. > (i) finds no crime to be illegal nor any lie to be wrong if they help GOP get elected. Some hyperbole? That’s a hideous caricature. If you think that’s the definition of a conservative you must really live in a bubble. That borderline insane rhetoric. Like, Alex Jones crazy. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076/100 "2019-10-01T21:06:22Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Some hyperbole? That’s a hideous caricature. If you think that’s the definition of a conservative you must really live in a bubble. That borderline insane rhetoric. Like, Alex Jones crazy. _ **Do you reject Donald Trump?** _ Or will you vote for him as a “least of evils”? Can you identify (and demonstrate) even a single point on my list which conflicts with today’s Trumpist practice or “thought”? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076.md?page=6)